Haslam visits VW Chattanooga plant to encourage workers
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam says he wanted to visit Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant to encourage workers who may have concerns about the German automaker’s emissions cheating scandal.
The Republican governor spoke to employees on Wednesday before speaking to reporters.
Haslam said he wanted the workers to know that “the state of Tennessee is not going anywhere in terms of supporting you all,” and that he still believes the plant can be successful despite the scandal in which Volkswagen was caught outfitting software to defeat emissions tests on diesel cars.
The governor’s visit to the plant comes a day before Volkswagen’s top American executive is to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in Washington.
Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday that panel is opening a separate investigation, this one concerning federal tax credits the company gave VW buyers.
